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Being 'cup-tied' is a well-known concept in world football. What this means is that if a player has represented a club in a competition and then subsequently gets transferred to another club participating in the same competition, the player will not be allowed to play in that competition for his new team.
This rule was introduced to stop European giants from gaining an unfair advantage by using their financial power in the middle of the season, that is, in the winter transfer window. It also discourages players from requesting a transfer once their team has been eliminated.
Every cup competition in Europe is under the purview of this cup-tied rule, while leagues do not entertain the same as they are played on a much larger scale and more frequently.
In 2018, UEFA, the main body behind the Champions League and Europa League, announced that they will be phasing out the cup-tied rule for their competitions from the 2018-19 season.
There have been players in the past who have been transferred to bigger clubs in the winter transfer window and have gone ahead to win the competition, but there have also been some unfortunate ones who have been knocked out twice, both with their old and their new club.
Today we take a look at the top 4 players who had to face elimination in the Champions League twice in the same season with two different teams.
3. Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St. Petersburg/Arsenal - 2008/09)
The Russian International signed for Arsenal from Zenit Saint-Petersburg during the 2008–09 winter transfer window, becoming the most expensive player in Arsenal's history at that time, for a fee of £15 million.
Zenit were already out of the Champions League having finished third in Group H which consisted of some European heavyweights like Real Madrid and Juventus. Arsenal, on the other hand, had progressed to the Round of 16, having finished second in Group G, one point behind FC Porto.
The Russian's new club Arsenal were also eventually knocked out of the tournament in the semi-final of the competition by Manchester United, who went on to face FC Barcelona in the final, which the English club lost by 2 goals.
Even if the Russian international was cup-tied in the tournament, he could have received a winners' medal if Arsenal had gone on to win the Champions League, making him worthy of the crown of a European Champion, but the Londoners bowed out without even reaching the final.
Arshavin eventually rejoined Zenit on loan in 2013 before moving permanently in the same year.
2. Takumi Minamino (RB Salzburg/Liverpool - 2019/20)
Minamino joined Liverpool in this season's winter transfer window from Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg for a reported fee of £7.25 million, which was his buyout clause as per his contract.
With this signing, the midfielder became the English club's first Japanese signing, going straight into the history books.
In an interesting twist of fate, Minamino faced Liverpool in the group stages of the Champions League, but unfortunately his previous employers crashed out of the competition in these early stages itself as they finished third in Group E.
On the other hand, reigning European Champions Liverpool were shockingly defeated by Atletico Madrid last night at Anfield to send the English club packing from Europe's biggest club competition, which ensured that Minamino got knocked out twice with two different clubs this season.
1. Erling Braut Haaland (RB Salzburg/Borussia Dortmund - 2019/20)
Regarded as one of the best young players on the planet right now, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland made a switch from RB Salzburg following the footsteps of his team-mate Minamino. He moved to German heavy-weights Borussia Dortmund in the winter transfer window.
But, the 19-year-old faced the same fate as Minamino last night in the Champions League when Paris Saint-Germain ousted his current team Dortmund with a 2-0 home win (3-2 aggregate) to eliminate the Germans from the tournament.
Interestingly, both Haaland and Minamino did not even win one round of the competition with their new employers, having been eliminated right after the group stages in the Round of 16.
This made him another player to lose out on the Champions League glory with two different teams in one single campaign - an infamous record to live with for a life-time.
